Clothes rack



Patented Dec. 7, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to an improved clothes rack, particularlyadaptable for use in automobiles, although it is also adapted for otheruses, such as in clothes closets and the like.

An object of my invention is to provide a novel clothes rack, which issimple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and which can bequickly and easily set in position.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel clothes rack, theclothes supporting arm of which is made of a flexible material which isflexed upwardly when in operative position, thus forming an arch to moreeffectively support clothing thereon.

A feature of my invention resides in the means on the clothes supportingarm to receive the hooks of clothes hangers and enabling the clothes tobe properly spaced.

Another feature of my invention resides in a novel means of adjustingthe length of the clothes supporting arm, so that the clothes rack canbe mounted in spaces of different width.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from theaccompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and theappended claim.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my clothes rack in operative position,an automobile body being shown in section.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of my clothes rack.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the clothes rack arm withparts broken away to show interior construction, and illustrating amodified latching means.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral I indicates avehicle body of usual and well-known design, and including the spacedside walls on which the clothes rack 2 is supported. The clothes rackcomprises a clothes supporting arm formed of two members 3 and 4. Thesetwo members are formed of a suitable flexible material, such as steeland the like, and will bend readily forming an arch as shown when inoperative position. The member 3 is fixedly attached to a foot 5, andsimilarly the member 4 is fixedly attached to a foot 6. The feet 5 and 6bear against the supporting side walls of the structure in which theclothes rack is mounted, and are of sumcient length to preventhorizontal misalignment or tilting of the rack.

The members 3 and I are each provided with a plurality of spaced holes Iinto which the hook of the clothes hanger may be inserted, and thus theclothes which are hung on the rack kept in properly spaced relation toeach other. The members 3 and 4 overlap and are adjustably securedtogether by suitable releasable means, such as the bolts and wing nuts 8thereon, or a suitable releasable means such as is shown in Figure 3. Inthis latter construction, the members 9 and I0 correspond to the members3 and 4, previously described, and also formed of a suitable flexiblematerial, the inner ends of which overlap, and on one of these members alatch I I is pivotally mounted by a fulcrum I I on member II], thislatch including a finger I2 which extends into aligned holes I4 in themembers 9 and I0, thus holding the said members in adjusted position. Aclip I3 guides sliding movement of the members 9 and I0 longitudinallyof each other and prevents them from moving transversely out of properoverlapped relation to each other.

A spring I5 holds the latch I I in engaged position. In operation themembers 9 and I0 are so adjusted that the distance between the shoes 5and 6 is somewhat greater than the distance between the walls againstwhich the clothes rack is supported. The members are then bowed upwardlyand when released the shoes 5 and 6 are pressed upwardly against thesupporting side walls such as the interior of an automobile. The members9 and Ill retain their upward bow and will thus efiectively support aload of clothes thereon without sagging.

Having described my invention, I claim:

A clothes rack comprising a bar adapted to have garments suspendedtherefrom and consisting of elongated flat strips of resilient materialhaving inner end portions overlapped, means to releasably secure thesaid inner end portions of said strips in adjusted overlapped relationto each other and form a bar of predetermined length adapting it to bebowed upwardly and disposed in a vehicle transversely thereof betweenside walls of the vehicle, spaced from each other a distance less thanthe length of the bar, and cross bars rigidly secured across the outerends of said strips and projecting from opposite sides thereof andconstituting rigid shoes adapted to be held in frictional grippingengagement with the side walls of the vehicle by the resiliency of thestrips, the portions of the cross bars projecting from opposite sides ofthe strips serving to brace the said bar against transverse tilting.

HORACE S. MAZET.

